Monell
The Sweet Smell of People
Animals use smell to gauge the suitability of potential mates. The human nose lacks such fine-tuning, but scientists at the Monell Chemical Sense Center and other research labs are working on artificial noses that might outsniff even dogs.
One application: picking up very faint traces of smells associated with certain diseases -- carbon disulfide with mental illness, for instance, or nitric oxide with cancer. Each person also seems to possess a unique body odor that doesn't change, no matter what he or she eats or drinks. Ultimately, olfactory technology might be able to identify people just by taking a whiff as they approach.